“Luckily, my boss also goes by bus and yesterday he already told us don’t worry if we’re late”. Andrea works in a small logistics company and this Thursday morning wait for the V7 at a stop on Via Augusta. Next to her, a dozen other people share a somewhat crooked gesture. “We always suck the same: travelers,” says Germán, an accountant for a company based in Plaza de Espanya. This Thursday there is 24-hour strike by driving professionalswho claim that the retirement from the sector is advanced to age 60. “I spend the day standing up and I don’t think anyone accepts that I retire at 60,” says Lidia, an employee of a clothing store, at a V15 stop in Balmes.
What makes them most nervous, and it is a common sensation in these days of mobilization in public transport, is not knowing. “I’ve been here 15 minutes. And nothing. Luckily now I left home half an hour earlier”, adds Lidia, a neighbor of the Putxet. Three minutes later, the V15 comes to a stop. Much more crowded than usual but with space for the six people waiting in the street to enter. Some travelers have had less luck on the Gran Via, where the H12 went to the passenger flag and has not stopped at some stops, generating quite a bit of anger among those who had been waiting for a long time.
Minimum services
TMB already warned on Wednesday that the minimum services marked by the Labor Department were insufficient: 40% of the service at peak hours – from 6:30 am to 9:30 am and from 4 pm to 8 pm – and 20% during the rest of the day. Also in the interurban surface transportation serviceas some users warn through social networks, many buses have not been able to meet the demand with the minimum services.
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TMB asked Treball to “take into account the circumstances of the increase constant in the use of public transport, derived in part from the reduction in the price of transport tickets integrated 50%”. The company also criticizes that “the strike is extensive to all bus operators, hindering the right to mobility in areas where transport does not provide sufficient coverage” and foresees that it will have a collateral impact on the rest of the transport (metro, FGC, Rodalies, Tram) due to a transfer of passengers. Specifically, it warns of “crowds” in the main metro stations
Retirement at 60 for professional drivers (now they can hang up the wheel at 62) is a historical demand of the union. They claim, above all else, that their physical and mental capacity decreases with age, which can generate a risk for travelers and other users of the street or highway. In TMB, the CGT, UGT and CCOO unions support the mobilization.